Talk:Balaclava

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is the talk page for discussing improvements to the Balaclava article.
Article policies
WikiProject Turkey
Turkey Portal
This article is within the scope of the WikiProject Turkey, which aims to improve Wikipedia's coverage of Turkey-related topics. Please visit the the participants page if you would like to get involved. Happy editing!
Start This article has been rated as start-Class on the project's quality scale.
Low This article has been rated as Low-importance on the project's importance scale.
edit · history · watch · refresh To-do list for Balaclava:

No to-do list assigned; you can help us in improving the articles in the same category
Fashion WikiProject
Fashion Portal
This article is within the scope of the Fashion WikiProject. Please work to improve this article, or visit our project page to find other ways of helping. Thanks!
Start This article has been rated as Start-Class on the assessment scale.
Low This article is on a subject of low-importance within fashion.

Article Grading: The article has been rated for quality and/or importance but has no comments yet. If appropriate, please review the article and then leave comments here to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the article and what work it will need.

"exposing only the eyes and often the nose" - Does this mean that the version with a big round hole in the front that exposes the whole face is not a balaclava? -- Heron 12:24, 26 Mar 2004 (UTC)

I dunno about that but I'm now thinking that we should have a separate article for ski-mask and balaclava. Traditionally a balaclava is made of wool and can be rolled up into a hat. It predates the popularity of skiing by quite some time. Because of the origin of the term the word Balaclava is more well-known in Britain than America. Mintguy (T)

Perhaps two articles would be best. I moved this to ski mask because on google "ski mask" got many more hits than "balaclava"... but, if they're different then that's irrelevant. I don't know much about either of them, so I'll leave it to someone else to split the page, if that would be best. fabiform | talk 19:30, 26 Mar 2004 (UTC)
Please please please don't use Google as a guide to relative worldwide usage. All google hits prove is that there are more websites in the USA than in the rest of the world. Mintguy (T) 21:22, 26 Mar 2004 (UTC)
I don't think that either is more prevalent in the US. I thought that a ski mask was something else for the longest time. I have been told that the "big round hole" one is a balaclava, while a ski mask has separate holes for each eye, but there doesn't seem to be a difference in popular usage.


I added a reference to outdoor sports activities because that is how I initially heard of a balaclava. I was looking for ski gear, and a balaclava was recommended. Upon researching in the wiki, I found no reference for skiing or outdoor sports usage. "Real world" research at REI and other outdoor "outfitters" revealed such use.

[edit] non-gun image

Does anyone have a Balaclava image which doesn't involve firearms? Perhaps something sports/weather-related? I'm not quite comfortable propagating the Hollywood stereotype that all balaclava-wearers are either muggers or SAS. I'm not pushing any liberal-hippie-gun-control-cabal-agenda, I'm just saying that balaclavas have plenty of non-violent uses. --LuciferBlack 21:30, 19 April 2006 (UTC)

The picture should stay. I'm willing to bet that the average person will associate the primary use of a balaclava being that of concealing one's identity (ostensibly to commit a violent or criminal act) anyways.
The average person living in a warm climate might. I live where it's winter much of the year and I certainly don't associate a ski-mask with violent crimes. 69.207.22.219 04:12, 22 June 2006 (UTC)
It doesn't matter if the average person associates balaclavas with criminal activity (which is disputable). The current image doesn't conform to NPOV standards. - 85.210.112.55 10:49, 29 June 2006 (UTC)
I couldn't find a skier in a balaclava after looking at around 4 dozen bio articles from arbitrarily selected skier categories and around 20 pictures. Ski masks don't seem to be very popular for pictures... --CalculatinAvatar(C-T) 08:13, 15 August 2006 (UTC)

I found a fair-use photo that I think will satisfy concerns over NPOV. It shows a ski mask on a mannequin head. As neutral as neutral can be, I'd say. SchuminWeb (Talk) 06:09, 8 October 2006 (UTC)

Are you mad?If you pictured someone wearing a balaclava then it's more than likely going to be a criminal. 83.70.73.88

More than likely going to be a criminal ??? The image I posted yesterday shows a United States Antarctic Program issued balaclava, for use at a scientific station.Gmarsden 20:02, 10 November 2006 (UTC)
I reverted it per the previous discussion on this talk page. Spebudmak 20:40, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

It might be worthwhile to include something about the "omg ski masks used to kill people and are bad" stereotype. I don't think that's the most notable use for them, though. I know a lot of bicyclists who use them in winter. We'd need a source for it, though.IMFromKathlene 00:28, 1 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Heat Exchange Balaclavas

I was surprised to find no reference to heat exchange balaclavas in the discussion. Heat exchangers have been around for over 100 years and commercially available and affordable for over 15 years. The concept is simple and easily verified. Heat is captured from the exhaled air and stored in a heat exchanger. The heat is then released into the inhaled air and the user is breathing fresh air, but it is warmed up. There are many benefits of breathing warm air. The largest is the ability to maintain body heat. 25% to 50% of one's body heat is lost through respiration (depending on activity level, respiration rate, and other clothing.) Other benefits include protection of the respiratory system from cold air. This is a tremendous benefit for athsmatics for whom cold air is a trigger for an attack. 71.208.205.114 15:17, 24 April 2007 (UTC)psolar

All sounds appropriate for the article. Why don't you add it? --Mikebrand 01:42, 25 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Other Variants?

This article should also include some of the other variants such as two-holed (eyes) and three-holed (eyes and mouth). Another picture or two couldn't hurt as well...I don't personally have a balaclava though. elateral 22:38, 13 July 2007 (UTC)

Agreed, we need more description of the different variations, such as the three-hole variety commonly referred to as a "ski mask". As for more photos, though, I'd pass. Given the length of this article, we don't need any more photos unless this article gets dramatically longer. SchuminWeb (Talk) 17:04, 14 July 2007 (UTC)